In the strange and unsettling Cittagazze, Will Parry's meets Lyra, who is in search of the secret of the mystical substance Dust. As they make allies and enemies along the way, they learn of the subtle knife - an object which many would kill to possess, for its incredible powers, and Will finds himself reluctantly in a fight for its possession.

Lyra Silvertongue and her daemon, Pantalaimon, find themselves in a shimmering, haunted other world - Cittagazze, where soul-eating Spectres stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky. Here she meets twelve-year-old Will Parry, a fugitive from a third universe.

Will Parry is a young boy in search of his long-lost explorer father. Will's discovery of an extraordinary 'window in the air' near the Oxford ring road leads him out of our world and into the strange and unsettling Cittagazze. There he meets Lyra, a girl who is herself searching for something: the secret of the mystical substance Dust.

Twelve-year-old Lyra, whose daemon Pantalaimon is part of her very self, is growing up in an ancient, ritual-haunted Oxford. She must rescue her friend Roger from evil kidnappers. In our world, Will has his own dangerous task to fulfil.

When Lee and his daemon, Hester, land in the Arctic town of Novy Odense, they become embroiled in a political brawl. So when Iorek offers to help, Lee is happy to accept. And so begins a friendship that will continue throughout their lives.

Lyra and Will are helped by friends old and new as they continue their perilous journey. The great armored bear Iorek Byrnison reappears, as does Dr Mary Malone, creator of the amber spyglass. Then there are the tiny, dragonfly-riding Gallivespians, and the wheel-borne Mulefa with their ability to see the mysterious substance Dust.

Lyra lives among scholars in the hallowed halls of Jordan College, tearing though Oxford's streets on quests for adventure. But her greatest adventure begins when she hears of a magical particle of dust that is rumoured to possess profound properties that could unite universes. She and her daemon, Pantalaimon, soon engage in a dangerous quest.

In Oxford, Lyra learns that children are being kidnapped by the mysterious Gobblers. Lyra and Pantalaimon join forces with a band of gyptians. Travelling north they encounter witch-queens and armoured bears, before being captured and taken to Bolvangar - where children are being used in terrible and secret experiments.

Lyra and her shape-changing daemon embark on a dangerous quest. In Oxford, Lyra learns that children are being kidnapped by the mysterious Gobblers. When her friend Roger vanishes she determines to find him, and is given a powerful alethiometer which can reveal the truth in all things.

Another mesmerizing episode from the universe of His Dark Materials set in the far frozen Arctic, including the very first meeting of those two legends and friends Lee Scoresby, the Texan balloonist, and Iorek Byrnison, the armored bear. "From the Audio Download edition."